Another Ten Commandments monument erected in Connellsville

Rachel Basinger | For the Daily Courier - Dean Neiderhiser, son of Dean and Loretta Neiderhiser of Uniontown, looks at the newly unveiled Ten Commandments monument at Central Fellowship Church in Connellsville on Sunday.

Rachel Basinger | For the Daily Courier - During the ceremonies held Sunday evening to unveil the newly erected Ten Commandments monument at Central Fellowship Church in Connellsville, Larry Stavish with Amvets Post 103 in Hopwood presents Linda Grabosky with a flag in honor of her husband Ron Grabosky who served in the National Guard from 1963 to 1969.

Rachel Basinger | For the Daily Courier - The Rev. Ewing Marietta (left) with the Thou Shall Not Move organization and several children helped to unveil the new Ten Commandments monument at Central Fellowship Church in Connellsville Sunday evening.

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By Rachel Basinger

Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013, 8:06 p.m.

The Thou Shall Not Move organization is hoping it is making a difference.

On Sunday, it hosted another ceremony at the Central Fellowship Church in Connellsville and revealed another Ten Commandments monument.

The Rev. Ewing Marietta, one of the founders of the organization, said about 5,100 yard signs of the Ten Commandments have been sold to date. The group has raised more than $22,000 for the purpose of erecting stone monuments of the Ten Commandments at area churches and other properties throughout the area.

The efforts of the Thou Shall Not Move group began after the Connellsville Area School District was threatened to be sued if it did not remove the Ten Commandments monument located on the grounds of the junior high school.

The group formed to raise funds for any legal costs that might be incurred by the district if a legal battle ensued.

At this point, the group has about $5,000 for that purpose, but the district has not yet asked for any money.

The case is in the courts.

The second purpose of the group was to raise funds to erect as many Ten Commandments monuments in the area as it could.

Sunday's dedication erected a monument just off of Water Street in Connellsville on church property.

The Rev. Alfred Thompson with both Payne and St. Paul AME churches in Connellsville and Uniontown, said it's important that they pass the baton to the next generation.

“We need to encourage the parents, that this needs to go on and on,” he said.

Ray Keefer, pastor of Central Fellowship, said his prayer is “that every person that walks by, every car that drives by and every train that passes — the Word of God would touch the hearts of people and melt them until they come into a personal relationship with God.”

Fayette County Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink said the Founding Fathers believed in God, the Bible and prayer and they used those as the guiding light to form our government.

Connellsville Mayor Charles Matthews said city council is dedicated to the cause and it believes God has a place in government.

“I'm hoping the people responsible for this fight realize that we have taken a bad and made a good out of it,” he said, adding that there are hundreds and thousands of signs up throughout the city on private property where the government can't interfere.

“I think this whole thing is actually turning out to be a good thing,” Matthews added.

Mike Brown, evangelist with Liberty Baptist Church in Uniontown, said Americans have allowed themselves to forget God.

“We need to stand up for God and for what is right,” he said.

Gary Colatch, a businessman involved with the Thou Shall Not Move organization, said people need to come together and fight for what they believe in.

“Don't stop fighting,” he said. “Keep doing what you're doing. You're going to make a difference and show everyone what makes this country great — the people.”

Individuals who would like to donate money to either the legal fund or the monument fund can send donations to “Ten Commandments,” P.O. Box 410, Connellsville, PA 15425.

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